Purpose and use of Discharge Ready Date

This guidance sets out how Discharge Ready Date (DRD) data should be recorded and reported.

It updates and replaces previous versions of DRD guidance, reflecting feedback from local systems, NHS trusts, NHS England regional teams and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC). The intent of this update is to improve clarity and data quality, not to introduce new mandatory reporting requirements.

Why DRD matters

A patient’s Discharge Ready Date (DRD) is the date on which they no longer require care that can only be provided in a hospital setting and are assessed as discharge ready. This clinical judgement is made using the Criteria to Reside assessment. Recording DRD consistently within electronic patient records provides a national dataset that can be used to determine how many patients are discharged on their DRD, how many experience a delay after becoming discharge ready, and the length of those delays. This supports better patient outcomes and improved flow through acute hospitals by enabling:

• front line clinicians and multidisciplinary teams to focus on timely, safe discharge and manage patient flow.
• staff in trusts, care transfer hubs and other health and care partners involved in organising discharges to monitor how quickly patients who are discharge ready, such as, no longer meet criteria to reside are discharged, identify bottlenecks, and improve their discharge processes.
• systems, including integrated care boards (ICBs) and health and wellbeing boards to understand local discharge performance, and take cross-system action to address process and capacity challenges and improve strategic commissioning of services.

As a patient level data collection, it can be used alongside data on patient characteristics to provide particularly useful insight.

DRD-derived metrics are central to measuring providers’ and systems’ discharge performance. Regional teams use the data to understand performance in their areas, and at a national level, DRD data is:

• captured in the NHS England Oversight Framework
• used to monitor local progress against discharge performance goals agreed through health and wellbeing boards, including those set out in the Integrated Care Funding Framework (ICFF), formerly Better Care Fund (BCF) plans and, from 2026–27, neighbourhood health plans
• published as an official statistic to support public transparency and accountability
• used by NHS England and DHSC for discharge performance monitoring and reporting to ministers
• analysed alongside other datasets to inform operational oversight and policy development

See Annex C for the list of published DRD-derived length of delay metrics.

Definitions and scope

Definitions

Discharge Ready Date (DRD)
The date on which a patient is first assessed as discharge ready during the final continuous period before discharge, having been assessed as no longer meeting the Criteria to Reside (CtR).

Criteria to Reside (CtR)
A. A nationally defined set of clinical criteria set out in annex D of the hospital discharge and community support guidance, used to support the clinical decision as to whether a patient requires ongoing care that can only be provided in an acute hospital bed. A patient is considered discharge ready when they no longer require care that can only be provided in a hospital setting. Operationally, discharge readiness is determined through the Criteria to Reside assessment.

No Criteria to Reside (NCtR)
Where the Criteria to Reside assessment determines that a patient no longer requires care that can only be provided in an acute hospital setting, this outcome is currently recorded within national operational datasets as No Criteria to Reside (NCtR), including within the Acute Daily Discharge SitRep.

Discharge date
The actual date the patient is discharged from the acute hospital spell. This may be the same as DRD or later (if delayed).

Delay
A delay is recorded when a patient remains in hospital overnight after their DRD has been recorded. Each subsequent overnight stay after the DRD counts as one additional day of delay.

Expected Date of Discharge (EDD)
As defined in the Model Discharge Pathway, an EDD should be set at the first consultant review and assume an ideal recovery pathway, unaffected by internal or external waits. It enables proactive management of the patient’s progress towards discharge and enable identification and resolution of delays. The EDD should only be changed if there is a change to the patient’s condition, not to accommodate waits for diagnostics, therapies or external services.

Scope

• DRD applies to patients aged 16 and over discharged from acute hospital settings, excluding maternity.
• DRD does not apply to community or mental health inpatient spells.
• In integrated trusts, a move from an acute bed to a non-acute bed (for example, rehabilitation or intermediate care) constitutes discharge from the acute spell and triggers DRD recording.
• The DRD should be left blank (NULL) if the patient transfers to another acute provider, or they self-discharge against clinical advice.
• Patients discharged under the Fast Track CHC pathway are within scope of DRD. A DRD should be recorded on the first day the patient no longer requires care in an acute bed. In many cases discharge will follow very quickly and the DRD and discharge date may be the same; where discharge occurs before the next formal CtR review, the date of discharge should be recorded as the DRD.

See Annex A for examples of how to report on different patient scenarios and Annex B for frequently asked questions.

Recording and submitting DRD

Technical submission

All providers should be submitting via CDS v6.3 in line with DAPB0092: Commissioning Data Sets – NHS England Digital.

DRD is submitted through Secondary uses Service (SUS) and Healthcare Operational Data Flows (HODF) in accordance with national specifications:

• Commissioning Data Sets (CDS DAPB0092: Commissioning Data Sets – NHS England Digital
• Healthcare Operational Data Flows (HODF): DAPB4094: Healthcare Operational Data Flows: Acute Information Standard – NHS England Digital Support.

Core recording principles

Subject to the limited exclusions described below in section 4, the following principles apply:

• A DRD must be recorded for all acute inpatients with a length of stay of one night or more who are assessed as discharge ready. This assessment is made using the Criteria to Reside assessment.
• The DRD should be entered on the same day the patient is first identified as discharge ready.
• If discharge occurs on the same day, the DRD and discharge date will be the same.
• If a patient deteriorates and requires continued acute hospital care before discharge, i.e. they again meet the Criteria to Reside, any previously recorded DRD must be deleted. A new DRD should be recorded when the patient is next assessed as discharge ready.

Use of NULL values

The DRD field must be left blank (NULL) where:

• the patient self-discharges against clinical advice
• the patient is transferred to another acute provider for continuing acute care

These scenarios are automatically identified via Method and Destination of Discharge codes and are excluded from delay metrics.

Providers may leave the DRD blank (NULL) where a patient is discharged on their DRD, in which case it will be taken that the discharge date is the same as the DRD.

Where a patient is appropriately discharged before the no criteria to reside decision has been formally recorded (for example, where discharge takes place before the next scheduled ward or board round), providers are encouraged to record the DRD as the patient’s discharge date. This supports assurance and stakeholder confidence in data quality.

Data quality and reconciliation

High-quality DRD data is essential for confidence in both local and national discharge metrics. Providers, ICBs and regions should routinely review DRD submissions for completeness, internal consistency and plausibility.

Relationship between DRD and NCtR

The Acute Daily Discharge SitRep counts patients assessed as having no criteria to reside (NCTR) at the morning board round who are not discharged by the end of the day. It provides a snapshot of the number of patients occupying acute beds who no longer need care in a hospital setting assessed through the Criteria to Reside.

DRD is recorded for every patient who experiences a delay prior to their discharge and the data are reported via the Admitted Patient Care CDS and Acute HODF collections. DRD is used to derive the length of delay for every patient (and the average by Trust which is reported nationally).

While the two datasets measure related concepts, they are not directly comparable on a simple count basis due to differences in timing, age coverage and reporting method. There should be a strong correlation between the number of patients who are NCtR (as measured by the Sitrep) and the numbers who are delayed (as measured by DRD data) and sustained or material divergence may indicate data quality or recording issues. All systems should regularly compare their data from both sources to ensure there are no significant discrepancies, and where these are found, investigate locally.

Continued use of NCtR data

The Criteria to Reside assessment will continue to support clinical decision-making and operational management. The outcome of this assessment is currently recorded within the Acute Daily Discharge SitRep as NCtR. Over time, patient-level data sets including DRD (for example, HODF/FDP) will become the primary national source for discharge timeliness and NCtR will be calculated using these data. Maintaining accurate DRD recording now is therefore essential to support a smooth transition.

Publication and metrics

NHS England publishes monthly DRD-based statistics including:

• numbers or proportions of patients discharged on DRD
• delay by band (1-3 days, 4-6 days, 7-13 days, 14-20 days and 21 days or more)
• average delay between DRD and discharge
• breakdown at trust and upper tier local authority (UTLA) level

Data quality thresholds are applied, and providers submitting data outside acceptable parameters may be contacted to support improvement.

Annex A – example scenarios

Example 1: Patient is discharged on the same day as the DRD

Scenario:

Patient A is admitted to a hospital bed on 01/02/2026. Initially, they meet the Criteria to Reside (CtR).
On 03/02/2026, following recovery, Patient A no longer meets the Criteria to Reside (CtR). The Discharge Ready Date (DRD) is recorded as 03/02/2026.
Later that same day, Patient A is discharged. The Discharge Date is also 03/02/2026.

Key points:

• DRD and Discharge Date are the same.
• This is a “zero-delay” discharge.
• Both dates should be recorded to ensure data completeness and support performance monitoring.

Example 2: Patient is discharged a day after their DRD

Scenario:

Patient B is admitted on 05/02/2026.
On 07/02/2026, Patient B no longer meets the Criteria to Reside (CtR). The DRD is recorded as 07/02/2026.
Patient B remains in hospital overnight and is discharged on 08/02/2026. The Discharge Date is 08/02/2026.

Key points:

• There is a one-day delay between DRD and Discharge Date.
• This delay should be captured in reporting and used to identify and address bottlenecks.

Example 3: Patient deteriorates and no longer meets criteria to reside after an initial DRD has been set

Scenario:

Patient C is admitted on 10/02/2026.
On 12/02/2026, Patient C is again assessed as no longer meeting the Criteria to Reside (CtR). DRD is recorded as 12/02/2026.
Later that day, Patient C’s condition deteriorates, and they again meet the CtR before discharge. The previously recorded DRD should be deleted.
On 15/02/2026, Patient C again no longer meet the CtR; a new DRD is recorded as 15/02/2026.
Patient C is discharged on 17/02/2026. The Discharge Date is 17/02/2026.

Key points:

• Only the start date of the final period when the patient no longer met the CtR should be recorded as the DRD.
• If a patient’s status changes, previous DRD entries should be deleted and replaced as appropriate.

Example 4: Discharge while still meeting CtR (for example, Self-Discharge)

Scenario:

Patient D is admitted on 24/02/2026.
On 25/02/2026, Patient D is assessed as still meeting the CtR. Later that day, Patient D self-discharges against clinical advice.

Key points:

• The Discharge Date is 25/02/2026.
• The DRD should be left blank (NULL) because the patient still met the CtR at discharge.
• The relevant method of discharge should be recorded (for example, ‘6 – patient discharged him/herself’).
• These cases are excluded from delay metrics.

General notes for all scenarios

• Where a patient is discharged before the discharge ready decision has been formally recorded, the day of discharge should be used as the DRD (for example, criteria-led discharge), the day of discharge should be used as the DRD.
• A DRD would not be recorded if the patient self-discharges against advice, is transferred to another acute provider for continued acute care, or dies in hospital with a valid criteria to reside.
• For patients with multiple changes in CtR status, always record the DRD as the start date of the final period when the patient no longer met the CtR before discharge.

Annex B – frequently asked questions

1. Do we need to be submitting data using the CDS v6.3 XML schema to submit the Discharge Ready Date (DRD)?

DRD can technically still be submitted using the CDS v6.2 XML schema. However, all trusts should now be operating on CDS v6.3 in line with the Information Standards Notice (ISN) and current national data requirements. Any organisations still using v6.2 should migrate without delay to ensure consistent reporting and alignment with the national standard.

2. We already record something similar, such as the ‘medically fit for discharge’ date. How does ‘discharge ready date’ differ and do we need to do anything differently?

CDS v6.3 introduced a change to the definition of Discharge Ready Date, which is now based specifically on a patient no longer meeting the specific, published Criteria to Reside. It is possible that providers may already capture data under a different local system name that fully meet the definition of Discharge Ready Date and therefore can be used for this reporting purpose. Care should be given to ensure all staff groups involved in the collection of this data are aware of the revised definition, terminology, and proposed reporting for Discharge Ready Date.

3. The Criteria to Reside guidance applies to adults only. Should Discharge Ready Date be collected for children and young people?

The Criteria to Reside tool applies to patients aged 16 and over, as outlined in Annex D of the Hospital Discharge and Community Support Guidance. This reflects that one of its components, NEWS2, is not suitable for patients under 16 years of age.

For national reporting purposes, Discharge Ready Date should therefore only be recorded for patients aged 16 and over.
However, local systems may choose to apply a similar approach for children and young people to support internal discharge planning or operational management, provided this is clearly distinguished from the national return.

4. Does Discharge Ready Date apply to all specialities provided by the Trust who may have admitted patients staying one night or more?

Discharge Ready Date is defined according to the Criteria to Reside guidance which applies in relation to adults being discharged from acute hospitals excluding maternity patients. Discharge Ready Date applies to all such admitted patients with a stay of one night or more who no longer meet the Criteria to Reside.

Discharges from mental health hospitals are not within the scope of the Criteria to Reside guidance. There is an equivalent metric for mental health called ‘clinically ready for discharge’, and mental health teams should continue to ensure this information flows via the mental health Covid SitRep. The Mental Health Services Data Set (MHSDS) also collects ‘clinically ready for discharge’ data as part of the version 6.0 update.

5. Does a Discharge Ready Date still need recording for patients who are discharged without any delay (that is, where Discharge Ready Date is the same as Discharge Date)?

Providers are encouraged to record a Discharge Ready Date (DRD) when discharge occurs on the same day the patient is identified as no longer meeting the Criteria to Reside (NCtR). Recording these ‘zero-delay’ cases provides a complete picture of discharge timeliness.

However, we know some providers leave the DRD blank (NULL) where a patient is discharged on their DRD, and whilst this is not encouraged, these blank fields will be interpreted as a zero-delay discharge. Where providers continue to leave the DRD field blank for this cohort, they must assure that the field is used correctly and 100% of blank fields are either due to the patient being discharged whilst still having CtR, or because they have been discharged on the day they were assessed as discharge ready.

Under no circumstance must the DRD field be left blank where the patient has experienced a discharge delay of one day or longer immediately prior to their discharge.

6. Is a Discharge Ready Date entry expected for patients who still meet the Criteria to Reside at the point of discharge from the hospital bed? (For example, Self-discharge).

No, a DRD should not be recorded if the patient still meets the Criteria to Reside at the point of discharge (for example, self-discharge, death, acute-to-acute transfer). These should remain NULL and will be excluded from delay metrics.

Annex C – full set of length of delay metrics

The full set of metrics within the publication for the DRD dataset are listed below. These metrics are presented at national, regional, ICB and provider level.

• number of providers submitting acceptable data
• % of providers submitting acceptable data
• number of patients discharged in total     
• total bed days lost due to delayed discharge

% of patients discharged where:

• date of discharge is same as Discharge Ready Date
• date of Discharge is 1+ days after Discharge Ready Date

Number and % of patients discharged where, between the Discharge Ready Date and Discharge Date, there is:

• No delay
• 1 day delay
• 2-3 days delay
• 4-6 days delay
• 7-13 days delay
• 14-20 days delay
• 21 days or more delay

Number and % of patients discharged after their Discharge Ready Date but discharged within:

• 1 day
• 2-3 days
• 4-6 days
• 7-13 days
• 14-20 days
• 21 days or more

Total bed days after Discharge Ready Date for patients discharged within:

• 1 day
• 2-3 days
• 4-6 days
• 7-13 days
• 14-20 days
• 21 days or more

Average days from Discharge Ready Date to date of discharge (including 0-day delays)

Average days from Discharge Ready Date to date of discharge (excluding 0-day delays)

Upper tier local authority (UTLA) data is included also. Providers, who submit acceptable data and contribute to the UTLA discharges, are listed beside the UTLA and a % contribution figure is shown as well as the metrics above, except for the average day’s metric.

% of all UTLA discharges that are from acceptable trusts.

Annex D: Treatment function codes (specific acute)

Treatment functions codes matching “specific acute”

Publication reference: PRN02145